Nat Geo. Ampute tortoise gets moving.
This Indian star tortoise is mobile again thanks to a prosthetic set of wheels.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ARUN SANKAR, GETTY IMAGES
By Brian Clark Howard
PUBLISHED JUNE 17, 2016
A plucky female tortoise is winning the hearts of the Indian public as it races around its zoo enclosure on an improvised set of wheels. The animal lost its front right leg in a mongoose attack, and zookeepers added the wheels in a short operation after they noticed the animal couldn't move around and reach its food.
The two-year-old Indian star tortoise lives at the sprawling Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Chennai, India. Since it received its new wheels, it moves even faster than its 14 able-bodied neighbors, according to zoo staff.
"I have never seen this, but it looks like a really good idea," says Kenneth Krysko, the collection manager of herpetology for the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainsville.
"It probably saved the animal," adds Krysko. "We see injured turtles like this all the time, so I'll have to remember this."
Turtles and tortoises often suffer injury to their legs.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ARUM SANKAR, AFP, GETTY IMAGES
Turtles and tortoises often have their legs injured in attacks from predators, including domestic cats and dogs, Krysko says. At Chennai, a mongoose reportedly emerged from the surrounding forest and attacked the tortoise in its enclosure.
Turtles and tortoises also sustain injuries in fires, get hit by cars, and suffer other mishaps. If they lose too much mobility, they can have trouble finding food and carrying out other daily tasks.
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